Apparatus for stenciling designs on surfaces.



W. B. SLATER. APPARATUS FOR STENCILING DESIGNS 0N SURFACES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.20,1D12.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

Af/omey s PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM -B. SLATER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

APPARATUS FOR STENCILING DESIGNS 0N SURFACES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct 8, 1912.

Application filed January 20, 1912. Serial No. 672,374.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM B. SLATER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Stenciling Designs on Surfaces; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has relation to a paratus for producing mural decoration and it consists of certain novel features whereby with the proper manipulation of my apparatus a complete wall treatment may be attained, such treatment leaving upon the surface of the wall a pleasing artistic effect in close imitation of a much more expensive product of high artistic skill, made manifest by the usual slow process of hand work, or by the use of a woven fabric as of silk or tapestry secured to the wall surface.

In the use of my apparatus the preliminary preparation of the wall may be accomplished by treating the bare walls directly with color or by covering the surface with suitable canvas as cotton or other material and applying the requisite number of coats of paint to the same, or a finished fabf ric of suitable char 0.01381 may be applied to the wall. After tlh. wall has thus been preliminarily treated I apply to the surface thereof such design as may be necessary to produce the effect or character of decoration desired, by first applying my primary or initial stencil plate, such stencil consisting of any suitable material, as properly prepared fibrous paper or sheet metal and having portions thereof cut away to produce the general outline or effect of the design to be placed upon the wall.

To the design produced by introducing color through the openings in the primary stencil, I apply my secon ary stencil which by the use of the same color or colors completes or at entuates parts of the design and by the um of lighter or darker colors or both with th: same stencil high lights and shadows are produced, giving a finished character to the design artly produced by the first stencil and ena les a workman to mechanically lights and she ing necessary inplosely imitating the hand-work of an artist.-

reduce all requisite high.

A detail description of theconstruction of the stencil. plates and method of applying colors thercthrough will be hereinafter set forth.

I now call attention to the accompanying drawings made a part of this application in which- Figure 1 shows the completed work performed with my primary and secondary stencils. Fig. 2 is a slightly enlarged detail view of one leaf of the design shown in mg. 1. Fig. 3 a fragmentary view of a portion of the secondary stencil, showing the openings through the stencil for the op posite edges of the leaf shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a similar view of the primary stencil showing the opening thorethrough for the central portion of the leaf shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a slightly enlarged view of a portion of the design shown in Fig. 1, showing the design produced in two colors instead of three, by a slightly modified form of stencil. Figs. (3 and 7 are fragmentary detail views of portions of the secondary and primary stencils, respectively, showing openings thcrcthrough for producing stems or the like, the opening in the primary stencil having straight edges while one of the openings in the secondary stencil has its inner edge ja ged or serrated, while a plurality of smal openings are positioned along the inner edge of the other opening, and, Fig. 8 shows a slightly tapering stem produced by the stencils having openings as shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

Obviously the stencil plates may be cut to show any preferred design though in the present instance I have shown a form of torch and wreath frequently employed in wall decoration, doing so as a matter of convenience of illustration to bring out the salient features of my invention.

By refcrringto Figs. 1 and 52 it will be observed that the werlc is produced in three colors, each portion such as a leaf, stem or tongue of flame having one edge light and the opposite edge dark while an intermediate color is employed for the central portion. The light, intermediate and darkcolors or and 3 res ectively. It will be understoodthat any tOlOlS or shades desired may be employed to produce the light and shaded etl'ect by l'iighlightin certain portions of the design and prorucing a )lended or loo shades are designated by the numerals 1., 2

shaded effect which can only be accomplished in high class artistic hand-work by taking leaf by leaf or detail by detail of the design. But, however,by means of my invention I am enabled to accomplish this by a cheap mechanical process, thereby avoiding artistic hand-work which is necessarily expensive, both as regards time and money.

To produce the three color or three shade effect the secondary stencil dis provided for each detail of the design with two 'slots 5 properly spaced from one another, as shown in Fig. 3 while the primary stencil 6'is provided with one slot 7 for each detail, which slot 7 is adapted to be positioned'between the spaces occupied by the spaced slots during the use of the first stencil and mayif desired be of such width as to lap over blending of the colors or shades.

the edges of the slots 5 to effect In practice the primary stencil is placed in proper position upon the surface to be decorated and the intermediate shade or paint applied thereto in such manner that it will find its way through the opening 7 for each detail of the design. The primarystencil is then removed and the secondary stencil placed in position, and the light and dark shades applied through the openings 5, it being understood that the light shade is introduced through one set of openings while the dark shade is introduced through the other, thus producing the opposite edges of each detail of the design, the colors applied through the openings 5 blending with the shade applied through .theopening 7 of the secondary stencil 4, the result being the finished decoration, as shown in It will be understood that the same color may be used for both sets of openings 5 in the secondary stencil, wit-h,a;se cond color to be used for the openings .7 finthe primary sten-,

cil, thus permitting the workman to produce a decorative design of only two colors or purpose. When the secondary stencil is pro vided with this design of openings for straight portions of the decoration, the primary stencil. 6 is provided with a correspo'ndingly tapered opening 11 which is adapted to be overlapped by the inner edges of the openings 8 and 9, to eli'ect proper blending of the colors. The continuous curved lines 12 may be produced by pro .duce a two color etl'ect.

proper viding overlapping alining openings in the primary and secondary stencils, as will be clearly understood.

Each detail of the decoration may be produced in two colors, as shown in Fig. 5 if desired, the light color 18 being forced through one of the openings 5 in the sec- ,ondary stencil while the other color 1 L is forced through the other opening 5 in said stencil andthrough the opening 7 1n the primary stencil. The effect in Fig. 5 may be produced by stencils specially cut to pro- It will also be understood that the secondary stencil may be employed first, if desired.

Briefly stated Iprovide a primary stencil plate constructed to give the general outline of the design adapted. for reproduction,

which'outline or initial stage of development is supplemented or completed by using the secondary stencil and by the use of my secondarystencil I really accomplish two distinct results, viz. The elaboratioii and completion of the design produced by the primary stencil and secondly the production of highlights or shadows on both parts of the design, both of saidresults being accomplished by the simple act of introducing the required color or colors through the openings in the secondary stencil. Moreover I am enabled to avoid the sharp 'lines of demarcation between the color employed through the primary stencil and the color introduced through the secondary stencil, such result being accomplished by means of the jagged or serrated edge 8 of the opening 8 or by means of the 'row of small openings 10. By means of the. serrated edge 8, the color applied through the opening: 8 and similar openings will be attenuated' or more thinly distributed at the meeting-edge of the two colors or will at least have that appearance in the finishedwvork. The same result may be attained by slitting the serrated edge 8" or providing attenuated ll-shaped clefts (not shown) in said edge. By, constructing the cooperating primary and secondary stencils asstated, I am enabled to produce stencils of much more lasting qualities, and by applying the stencils successively and applying colors through their openings as described the predetermined design of completed character follows as a result. By placing the secondary stencil directly upon the primary stencil,

it will be seen that the openings in the primary stencil will not appear through the openings in the secondary stencil, except such openings as may be especially formed to insure accurate registration. thus showin g that it is not necessary tohave the full completed designbeforeapplying the secondary stencil and thereby cover over the color introduced through the primary stencil, in other words the openings in the sc'ondary stencil are so arranged as to enable the color to be placed on the design only at points Where high lights or shadows are desirable and it follows that suitable high lighting or brightening color may be employed according to the judgment of the operator or the wishes of the person for Whom the Work is performed, thereby enabling a Workman of ordinary skill or even an amateur to produce a design in accordance with the stencils, which shall have high artistic merit practically of the same order or degree as though the Work had been done by an artist as hand-work.

What I claim is 1. Apparatus for stenciling designs on surfaces comprising cooperating secondary and primary stencils formed of flexible material the secondary stencil having a pair of spaced openings through which color or colors may be applied to produce the opposite edges of each figure of the design While the primary stencil is provided with an opening for each figure of the design having its edges sl ghtly overlapping the inner edges of the openings in the secondary stencil for the same figure of the design, through which-opening 1n the primary stenoil a color may be applied to produce the central portion of the figure, each figure of the design being produced in the same mannor.

Cooperating primary and second-a1 stencils formed of flexible material, the primary stencil having openings through which color may be introduced to produce the central portion of an ornamental figure while the secondary stencil is provided with openings offset from and overlapping the openings of the primary stencil, through which oliset overlapping openings second and third colors may be applied to produce the opposite edges of the ornamental figure and thus complete said figure, the openings in the secondary stencil having certain of their edges serrated to cause proper blending of the colors applied through the openings of the primary and secondary stencils.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of 0 two subscribing witnesses. i

WILLIAM B. SLATER.

\Vitnesses:

C. E. Fn'rznn, M. A. Nnwcoms.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

